


The End of the Universe

by papertimelady (lvcoloredmagic)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Episode: s03e11 Utopia, Gen, Missing Scene, end of the universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-07
Updated: 2013-02-07
Packaged: 2017-11-28 11:28:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/673880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvcoloredmagic/pseuds/papertimelady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing-scene fic that takes place in between Utopia and The Sound of Drums.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End of the Universe

**Author's Note:**

> The first line was inspired by a line in the DW book The Coming of the Terraphiles by Michael Moorcock.

“How’s the future looking down there?” What? That made no sense. And yet a voice had called down from above, tauntingly asking its cryptic question.

“How’s the future looking down there?” Why, there it was again! Nonsense. One could not look at the future as though it were a tangible material object. The future was a variable; time was constantly being rewritten.

“How’s the future looking down there?” Three times the voice had said it, but it still made no sense.

“How’s the past looking up there?” was called back in return, taunting the tauntingly ridiculous original question.

“Which one?” A strange response. Granted, in the olden days there was time travel, and thus a need for a large amount of tenses. But now, so very long after the last time traveler had been seen, there were only the three familiar tenses: past, present, and future. Right? For some strange reason, nothing seemed quite as sure as it had… how long ago was it now? Five minutes? Yes, yes, that seemed reasonable. Five minutes ago.

“Wrong!” the voice squealed gleefully. Now, who, or WHAT in the name of sanity was saying that? A glance around, nothing revealed. But wait. A second glance around, nothing revealed. What? Another glance around, nothing revealed. Well that hardly seemed right. A glance around, nothing revealed. A glance around, nothing… Nothing! Nothing? Nothing. There was nothing. There was no light, nor dark; no heat nor cold. Were these thoughts and ponderings even real, as they slid away like raindrops on a sheet of glass? But what was glass? Thoughts of glass brought about thoughts of windows. After the stars had gone out and the galaxies collapsed, there was no need for windows. All that was needed was an atmospheric shell and protection from the Futurekind. Wait… the stars going out, the galaxies collapsing… what had killed them? Time. Only time. So what was this?

“Not time, if that’s what you’re thinking.” That voice! There it was again! It was stupidly arrogant, yet its words held a certainty and intelligence beyond anything else. Yet also it held a distant note of self-loathing, masked yet present. How strange. Then, an idea.

“What is this?” was asked of the voice.

“Why, you missed it!”

“Missed what?”

“The end of the Universe!”

That made no sense. How could the Universe have ended, completely unnoticed?

“You were too busy ‘dreaming of Utopia!’” The last three words were sarcastically emphasized. ”Oh, yes, you are very much out of time. However, I could give it back! Or rather, I could take you back! To time! In time!”

“To what end?” If this was out of time, then why would the voice be offering time?

“It’s so very pretty, back in time.” Was that an answer? It was close enough. Pretty. That sounded so appealing in this land, if it could be called that, of nothing.

“Pretty…” The word slid away, as the previous one had done.

“Yes! Pretty!” The voice was encouraging now.

“Pretty… Could I be pretty?” Oh, that sounded just so lovely right then.

“Why yes. You can be prettiest in all the Universe. You can have the Universe!” The voice had first offered time, then pretty, and now the Universe? The voice was very kind, very kind indeed.

“Just come with me!” The voice called, seemingly further away.

“No…Wait…” the struggle to follow was ever so difficult.

“What else is it you need to know?” The voice sounded annoyed now. That was un-nice. Un-nice? Was that a word? Oh well. A doubt then came to mind. The voice seemed as though it was having this conversation a thousand million times over. But that made no sense! Nothing did lately. Another doubt about the voice’s intent, but it fell away into nothing.

“Who are you? What is your name?” A final question to be asked of the voice before accompanying it to time, pretty, and the Universe.

The voice responded very deliberately this time.

“I am the Master.”

* * *


End file.
